Exchange students from France, Fall semester AY 21-22

by dkphung | Oct 4, 2021 | News

Gauthier Agathe Caroline Melanie and Le Gall Lisa Louise Marie, Business students from Rennes School of Business, France.

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We are two French students who arrived in Vietnam in mid-August for a semester of study. Today, we made our first discovery of Ho Chi Minh after 1 month and a half of strict lockdown. It was not easy to be in this situation in a country that we don’t know, a language and regulations that we don’t manage and especially after having already lived a complicated lockdown in France almost a year ago.

Some days were longer than others, like in the hotel during the days of obligatory quarantine and alone in rooms. But fortunately for us, after the quarantine was over, we were able to move to an accommodation in the center. We were lucky because our landlord and our neighbors gave us the opportunity to discover a little more the Vietnamese culture, to have a taste of the local gastronomy and especially to pass this confinement a little faster and in a nicer way.

We thank the university and especially the Center of International Mobility for the guidance and support for our arrival. Since our enrolment, throughout the administrative process and on a everyday basis, the university is present, making the situation easier for us.

The buddies from IU Buddy are there too, so it’s nice to be able to discuss and share about the Vietnamese habits.

We can’t wait to meet them!

With the step back, we don’t regret to have chosen Vietnam for our exchange nor to have come, nevertheless I think that we could have waited a little and not to come so early, things would have been even more simple.

Exchange Student in Fall semester, Spring 2021-2022

by dkphung | Oct 4, 2021 | News

Hueber Andreas Alfred, Business student from MCI Management Center Innsbruck.

My name is Andy, and I am from Austria. My study allowed me to do a semester abroad and after lots of thinking, my choice fell on the heart of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City. Due to the severe COVID-19 situation in Vietnam in Summer 2021, it was not easy to get here but with the keen and 24/7 support of the IU, I was able to solve all the problems I had to deal with.

In September, I was finally allowed to fly to Vietnam and so I did. I cached the first flight I found, did a seven-day-quarantine in a quarantine hotel, and afterwards faced another week of home quarantine before going out to explore the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

Being prepared to step into another week of boredom I was surprised in every way. I moved in with a lovely couple who was very accommodating and hospitable. From the first moment I met them, they helped me to find my way through the winding streets of District 2. Throughout this week of home quarantine, we had a lot of talks about cultures around the world and of course, we found a lot of habits and behaviors which differ from Austria to Vietnam.

So, if we were not busy talking about food in the different countries, we were busy cooking a lot of specialties of Vietnam like, Bánh Xèo, Bún Bò Huế or Coconut Curry with freshly made coconut milk. Therefore, I was already able to experience the tastes of Vietnam during the home quarantine. Additionally, I felt very free being here, as I could use a rooftop to exercise, read a book or just lie in the sun until it dawned behind the skyscrapers of District1.

All these experiences give me confidence, that the situation is getting better now and that the time in Vietnam will be a unique experience.